Too polemical or too critical? Chomsky on the study of the news media and US foreign policy

Review of International Studies

Volumn 29, Issue 4, 2003, Pages 553-568+463

  Herring, Eric ^a,b   Robinson, Piers ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE   (United Kingdom)

^c UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 10744233429     PISSN: 02602105     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0260210503005539     Document Type: Review

References (87)

1. Noam Chomsky, 'On the Bombings', no date. 〈http://www.zmag.org/ZNET.htm〉
2. Quoted in Nick Cohen, 'Why It is Right to be Anti-American', The New Statesman, 14 January 2002, p. 10.
3. Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (New York: Pantheon, 1988), p. xii. See also the edited interviews in Peter R. Mitchell and John Schoeffel (eds.), Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky (New York: The New Press, 2002), pp. 348-51.
4. Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (New York: Pantheon, 1988), p. xii. See also the edited interviews in Peter R. Mitchell and John Schoeffel (eds.), Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky (New York: The New Press, 2002), pp. 348-51.
5. For this misinterpretation of Chomsky, see Andrew Marr's comments in his televised BBC interview with Chomsky, The Big Idea, British Broadcasting Corporation, February 1996. Unofficial transcript at 〈http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/interviews/9602-big-idea.html〉
6. Herman, Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent.
7. Ibid., p. xi; Walter Lippraan, Public Opinion (London: Allen & Unwin, 1921); Noam Chomsky, Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies (London: Pluto Press, 1989), p. 16.
8. Ibid., p. xi; Walter Lippraan, Public Opinion (London: Allen & Unwin, 1921); Noam Chomsky, Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies (London: Pluto Press, 1989), p. 16.
9. Ibid., p. xi; Walter Lippraan, Public Opinion (London: Allen & Unwin, 1921); Noam Chomsky, Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies (London: Pluto Press, 1989), p. 16.
10. Herman, Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent, pp. 3, 14.
11. Ibid., p. 17.
12. Ibid., p. 27.
13. I b i d.
14. Ibid., p. 29.
15. Herman, Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent, 2001, pp. vii-viii.
16. Daniel C. Hallin, The 'Uncensored War': The Media and Vietnam (London: University of California Press, 1986); Lance W. Bennett, 'Toward a Theory of Press-State Relations in the United States', Journal of Communication, 40:2 (1990), pp.103-25.
17. Daniel C. Hallin, The 'Uncensored War': The Media and Vietnam (London: University of California Press, 1986); Lance W. Bennett, 'Toward a Theory of Press-State Relations in the United States', Journal of Communication, 40:2 (1990), pp.103-25.
18. Bennett, 'Press-State Relations', p. 109.
19. Ibid., p. 103.
20. Ibid., pp. 108-9.
21. Ibid., p. 113.
22. Ibid., p. 125.
23. Herman, Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent, p. 2.
24. Hallin, The 'Uncensored War', pp. 63-70.
25. Ibid., p. 68.
26. Ibid., p. 70.
27. The eight works selected as 'significant' are research-based analyses of the media and US foreign policy by academics published either as books by major publishers or articles in major journals. The works are Mikhail A. Alexseev and W. Lance Bennett, 'For Whom the Gates Open - News Reporting and Government Source Patterns in the United States, Great Britain, and Russia', Political Communication, 12:4 (1995), pp. 395-412; Scott L. Althaus, Jill A. Edy, Robert M. Entman and Patricia Phalen, 'Revising the Indexing Hypothesis: Officials, Media, and the Libya Crisis, Political Communication, 13:4 (1996), pp. 407-21; W. Lance Bennett and David L. Paletz (eds.), Taken By Storm: The Media, Public Opinion and US Foreign Policy in the Gulf War (Chicago, IL and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1994); Steven Livingston and Todd Eachus, 'Humanitarian Crises and US Foreign Policy', Political Communication, 12 (1995), pp. 413-29; Jonathan Mermin, Debating War and Peace (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999); Philip J. Powlick and Andrew Z. Katz, 'Defining the American Public Opinion Foreign Policy Nexus', International Studies Quarterly, 42 (1998), pp. 29-61; Gadi Wolfsfeld, The Media and Political Conflict: News From the Middle East (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997); John Zaller and Dennis Chui, 'Government's Little Helper: US Press Coverage of Foreign Policy Crises, 1945-1991', Political Communication, 13 (1996), pp. 385-405.
28. The eight works selected as 'significant' are research-based analyses of the media and US foreign policy by academics published either as books by major publishers or articles in major journals. The works are Mikhail A. Alexseev and W. Lance Bennett, 'For Whom the Gates Open - News Reporting and Government Source Patterns in the United States, Great Britain, and Russia', Political Communication, 12:4 (1995), pp. 395-412; Scott L. Althaus, Jill A. Edy, Robert M. Entman and Patricia Phalen, 'Revising the Indexing Hypothesis: Officials, Media, and the Libya Crisis, Political Communication, 13:4 (1996), pp. 407-21; W. Lance Bennett and David L. Paletz (eds.), Taken By Storm: The Media, Public Opinion and US Foreign Policy in the Gulf War (Chicago, IL and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1994); Steven Livingston and Todd Eachus, 'Humanitarian Crises and US Foreign Policy', Political Communication, 12 (1995), pp. 413-29; Jonathan Mermin, Debating War and Peace (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999); Philip J. Powlick and Andrew Z. Katz, 'Defining the American Public Opinion Foreign Policy Nexus', International Studies Quarterly, 42 (1998), pp. 29-61; Gadi Wolfsfeld, The Media and Political Conflict: News From the Middle East (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997); John Zaller and Dennis Chui, 'Government's Little Helper: US Press Coverage of Foreign Policy Crises, 1945-1991', Political Communication, 13 (1996), pp. 385-405.
29. The eight works selected as 'significant' are research-based analyses of the media and US foreign policy by academics published either as books by major publishers or articles in major journals. The works are Mikhail A. Alexseev and W. Lance Bennett, 'For Whom the Gates Open - News Reporting and Government Source Patterns in the United States, Great Britain, and Russia', Political Communication, 12:4 (1995), pp. 395-412; Scott L. Althaus, Jill A. Edy, Robert M. Entman and Patricia Phalen, 'Revising the Indexing Hypothesis: Officials, Media, and the Libya Crisis, Political Communication, 13:4 (1996), pp. 407-21; W. Lance Bennett and David L. Paletz (eds.), Taken By Storm: The Media, Public Opinion and US Foreign Policy in the Gulf War (Chicago, IL and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1994); Steven Livingston and Todd Eachus, 'Humanitarian Crises and US Foreign Policy', Political Communication, 12 (1995), pp. 413-29; Jonathan Mermin, Debating War and Peace (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999); Philip J. Powlick and Andrew Z. Katz, 'Defining the American Public Opinion Foreign Policy Nexus', International Studies Quarterly, 42 (1998), pp. 29-61; Gadi Wolfsfeld, The Media and Political Conflict: News From the Middle East (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997); John Zaller and Dennis Chui, 'Government's Little Helper: US Press Coverage of Foreign Policy Crises, 1945-1991', Political Communication, 13 (1996), pp. 385-405.
30. The eight works selected as 'significant' are research-based analyses of the media and US foreign policy by academics published either as books by major publishers or articles in major journals. The works are Mikhail A. Alexseev and W. Lance Bennett, 'For Whom the Gates Open - News Reporting and Government Source Patterns in the United States, Great Britain, and Russia', Political Communication, 12:4 (1995), pp. 395-412; Scott L. Althaus, Jill A. Edy, Robert M. Entman and Patricia Phalen, 'Revising the Indexing Hypothesis: Officials, Media, and the Libya Crisis, Political Communication, 13:4 (1996), pp. 407-21; W. Lance Bennett and David L. Paletz (eds.), Taken By Storm: The Media, Public Opinion and US Foreign Policy in the Gulf War (Chicago, IL and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1994); Steven Livingston and Todd Eachus, 'Humanitarian Crises and US Foreign Policy', Political Communication, 12 (1995), pp. 413-29; Jonathan Mermin, Debating War and Peace (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999); Philip J. Powlick and Andrew Z. Katz, 'Defining the American Public Opinion Foreign Policy Nexus', International Studies Quarterly, 42 (1998), pp. 29-61; Gadi Wolfsfeld, The Media and Political Conflict: News From the Middle East (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997); John Zaller and Dennis Chui, 'Government's Little Helper: US Press Coverage of Foreign Policy Crises, 1945-1991', Political Communication, 13 (1996), pp. 385-405.
31. The eight works selected as 'significant' are research-based analyses of the media and US foreign policy by academics published either as books by major publishers or articles in major journals. The works are Mikhail A. Alexseev and W. Lance Bennett, 'For Whom the Gates Open - News Reporting and Government Source Patterns in the United States, Great Britain, and Russia', Political Communication, 12:4 (1995), pp. 395-412; Scott L. Althaus, Jill A. Edy, Robert M. Entman and Patricia Phalen, 'Revising the Indexing Hypothesis: Officials, Media, and the Libya Crisis, Political Communication, 13:4 (1996), pp. 407-21; W. Lance Bennett and David L. Paletz (eds.), Taken By Storm: The Media, Public Opinion and US Foreign Policy in the Gulf War (Chicago, IL and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1994); Steven Livingston and Todd Eachus, 'Humanitarian Crises and US Foreign Policy', Political Communication, 12 (1995), pp. 413-29; Jonathan Mermin, Debating War and Peace (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999); Philip J. Powlick and Andrew Z. Katz, 'Defining the American Public Opinion Foreign Policy Nexus', International Studies Quarterly, 42 (1998), pp. 29-61; Gadi Wolfsfeld, The Media and Political Conflict: News From the Middle East (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997); John Zaller and Dennis Chui, 'Government's Little Helper: US Press Coverage of Foreign Policy Crises, 1945-1991', Political Communication, 13 (1996), pp. 385-405.
32. The eight works selected as 'significant' are research-based analyses of the media and US foreign policy by academics published either as books by major publishers or articles in major journals. The works are Mikhail A. Alexseev and W. Lance Bennett, 'For Whom the Gates Open - News Reporting and Government Source Patterns in the United States, Great Britain, and Russia', Political Communication, 12:4 (1995), pp. 395-412; Scott L. Althaus, Jill A. Edy, Robert M. Entman and Patricia Phalen, 'Revising the Indexing Hypothesis: Officials, Media, and the Libya Crisis, Political Communication, 13:4 (1996), pp. 407-21; W. Lance Bennett and David L. Paletz (eds.), Taken By Storm: The Media, Public Opinion and US Foreign Policy in the Gulf War (Chicago, IL and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1994); Steven Livingston and Todd Eachus, 'Humanitarian Crises and US Foreign Policy', Political Communication, 12 (1995), pp. 413-29; Jonathan Mermin, Debating War and Peace (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999); Philip J. Powlick and Andrew Z. Katz, 'Defining the American Public Opinion Foreign Policy Nexus', International Studies Quarterly, 42 (1998), pp. 29-61; Gadi Wolfsfeld, The Media and Political Conflict: News From the Middle East (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997); John Zaller and Dennis Chui, 'Government's Little Helper: US Press Coverage of Foreign Policy Crises, 1945-1991', Political Communication, 13 (1996), pp. 385-405.
33. The eight works selected as 'significant' are research-based analyses of the media and US foreign policy by academics published either as books by major publishers or articles in major journals. The works are Mikhail A. Alexseev and W. Lance Bennett, 'For Whom the Gates Open - News Reporting and Government Source Patterns in the United States, Great Britain, and Russia', Political Communication, 12:4 (1995), pp. 395-412; Scott L. Althaus, Jill A. Edy, Robert M. Entman and Patricia Phalen, 'Revising the Indexing Hypothesis: Officials, Media, and the Libya Crisis, Political Communication, 13:4 (1996), pp. 407-21; W. Lance Bennett and David L. Paletz (eds.), Taken By Storm: The Media, Public Opinion and US Foreign Policy in the Gulf War (Chicago, IL and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1994); Steven Livingston and Todd Eachus, 'Humanitarian Crises and US Foreign Policy', Political Communication, 12 (1995), pp. 413-29; Jonathan Mermin, Debating War and Peace (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999); Philip J. Powlick and Andrew Z. Katz, 'Defining the American Public Opinion Foreign Policy Nexus', International Studies Quarterly, 42 (1998), pp. 29-61; Gadi Wolfsfeld, The Media and Political Conflict: News From the Middle East (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997); John Zaller and Dennis Chui, 'Government's Little Helper: US Press Coverage of Foreign Policy Crises, 1945-1991', Political Communication, 13 (1996), pp. 385-405.
34. The eight works selected as 'significant' are research-based analyses of the media and US foreign policy by academics published either as books by major publishers or articles in major journals. The works are Mikhail A. Alexseev and W. Lance Bennett, 'For Whom the Gates Open - News Reporting and Government Source Patterns in the United States, Great Britain, and Russia', Political Communication, 12:4 (1995), pp. 395-412; Scott L. Althaus, Jill A. Edy, Robert M. Entman and Patricia Phalen, 'Revising the Indexing Hypothesis: Officials, Media, and the Libya Crisis, Political Communication, 13:4 (1996), pp. 407-21; W. Lance Bennett and David L. Paletz (eds.), Taken By Storm: The Media, Public Opinion and US Foreign Policy in the Gulf War (Chicago, IL and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1994); Steven Livingston and Todd Eachus, 'Humanitarian Crises and US Foreign Policy', Political Communication, 12 (1995), pp. 413-29; Jonathan Mermin, Debating War and Peace (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999); Philip J. Powlick and Andrew Z. Katz, 'Defining the American Public Opinion Foreign Policy Nexus', International Studies Quarterly, 42 (1998), pp. 29-61; Gadi Wolfsfeld, The Media and Political Conflict: News From the Middle East (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997); John Zaller and Dennis Chui, 'Government's Little Helper: US Press Coverage of Foreign Policy Crises, 1945-1991', Political Communication, 13 (1996), pp. 385-405.
35. Zaller and Chui, 'Government's Little Helper', p. 385.
36. Powlick and Katz, 'Defining the American Public Opinion Foreign Policy Nexus', p. 29.
37. Mermin, Debating War and Peace, p. 143.
38. Ibid., p. 9.
39. For an overview of this work, see Robinson, 'Theorizing the Influence of Media on World Politics', European Journal of Communication, 16:4 (2001), pp. 538-41.
40. Wolfsfeld, Media and Political Conflict, p. 3.
41. Paletz, 'Just Deserts' in Taken by Storm, p. 284.
42. I b i d.
43. Hallin, We Keep America on Top of the World (London: Routledge, 1992), p. 13, and Peter Golding and Graham Murdoch, 'Culture, Communications and Political Economy' in Mass Media and Society (London: Arnold, 1996), pp. 11-30. For a rebuttal of the various criticisms, see Edward Herman, 'The Propaganda Model: A Retrospective', Journalism Studies, 1:1 (2000), pp. 101-12.
44. Hallin, We Keep America on Top of the World (London: Routledge, 1992), p. 13, and Peter Golding and Graham Murdoch, 'Culture, Communications and Political Economy' in Mass Media and Society (London: Arnold, 1996), pp. 11-30. For a rebuttal of the various criticisms, see Edward Herman, 'The Propaganda Model: A Retrospective', Journalism Studies, 1:1 (2000), pp. 101-12.
45. Hallin, We Keep America on Top of the World (London: Routledge, 1992), p. 13, and Peter Golding and Graham Murdoch, 'Culture, Communications and Political Economy' in Mass Media and Society (London: Arnold, 1996), pp. 11-30. For a rebuttal of the various criticisms, see Edward Herman, 'The Propaganda Model: A Retrospective', Journalism Studies, 1:1 (2000), pp. 101-12.
46. Herman, Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent, p. 304.
47. Ibid., p.306.
48. Herman, 'Propaganda Model', pp. 103-4.
49. Golding, Murdoch, 'Culture, Communications and Political Economy', p. 15.
50. Hallin, We Keep America on Top of the World, p. 13.
51. Correspondence, Hallin to Robinson, 12 July 2002.
52. One indication is that, in July 2002, Manufacturing Consent had an impressive Amazon sales ranking of 2,541 whereas the ranking of The 'Uncensored War' was only 131,713.
53. For various non-academic critiques of Chomsky's work as polemical, see the Leftwatch website 〈http://www.leftwatch.com/FAQ/People/noam_chomsky.html〉
54. Noam Chomsky, 'The Function of the University in a Time of Crisis', ch. 4 of his Reasons of State (London: Fontana, 1973); Noam Chomsky et al., The Cold War and the University: Toward an Intellectual History of the Postwar Years (New York: The New Press, 1997). See also notes 59 and 65.
55. Noam Chomsky, 'The Function of the University in a Time of Crisis', ch. 4 of his Reasons of State (London: Fontana, 1973); Noam Chomsky et al., The Cold War and the University: Toward an Intellectual History of the Postwar Years (New York: The New Press, 1997). See also notes 59 and 65.
56. ACTA was founded by Lynne Cheney, married to Vice President Richard Cheney, and Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman is among those associated with it. Patrick Healey, 'On Campus Conservatives Denounce Dissent', The Boston Globe, 13 November 2001. 〈http://www.boston.com/ globe〉; American Council of Trustees and Alumni 〈http://www.goacta.org/〉
57. See notes 41, 59 and 65.
58. Correspondence Bennett to Robinson, 12 July 2002.
59. Correspondence Zaller to Robinson, 30 July 2002.
60. Hallin, The 'Uncensored War', p. 65.
61. Mermin, Debating War and Peace, pp. 28-9
62. Ibid., pp. 149-150.
63. Herman, Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent, pp. xiii, xv.
64. Hallin, The 'Uncensored War', pp. 207-8.
65. Ibid., p. 214.
66. Hallin, We Keep America on Top of the World, pp. 58-86.
67. Ibid., p. 73.
68. Ibid., p. 64.
69. Herman, 'Propaganda Model', p. 106.
70. Bennett, 'Toward a Theory of Press-State Relations in the United States', p. 103.
71. Ibid., p. 104.
72. Correspondence, Bennett to Robinson, 12 July 2002.
73. Chomsky has from the outset been engaged in a broader critique of US intellectual culture. His classic piece on this subject was published in 1967, and this issue has been a prominent part of his output ever since. See Chomsky, 'The Responsibility of Intellectuals', The New York Review of Books, 23 February 1967 〈http://monkeyfist.com/ChomskyArchive/essays/roi_html〉 reproduced as a chapter in his book American Power and the New Mandarins (New York: Pantheon, 1969). See also the items in notes 41 and 65.
74. Chomsky has from the outset been engaged in a broader critique of US intellectual culture. His classic piece on this subject was published in 1967, and this issue has been a prominent part of his output ever since. See Chomsky, 'The Responsibility of Intellectuals', The New York Review of Books, 23 February 1967 〈http://monkeyfist.com/ChomskyArchive/essays/roi_html〉 reproduced as a chapter in his book American Power and the New Mandarins (New York: Pantheon, 1969). See also the items in notes 41 and 65.
75. Mermin, Debating War and Peace, p. 30.
76. Ibid., p. 146.
77. Ibid., pp. 11, 57-8, 65, 85.
78. Eric Herring, 'An Uneven Killing Field: The Manufacture of Consent for the Arms Embargo on Bosnia-Herzegovnia', in Malcolm D. Evans (ed.), Aspects of Statehood and Institutionalism in Contemporary Europe (Aldershot: Dartmouth, 1997), pp. 159-82.
79. Piers Robinson, The CNN Effect: The Myth of News, Foreign Policy and Intervention (London: Routledge, 2002).
80. In addition to the items in notes 41 and 59, see Mitchell, Schoeffel, Understanding Power, ch. 7.
81. Ibid., pp. 247-8. For a brilliant exploration of how all forms of professional training (including academic training) inculcate not only skills but also ideological discipline, and also how professionals can survive professional training with their values intact, see Jeff Schmidt, Disciplined Minds: A Critical Look at Salaried Professionals and the Soul-Battering System That Shapes Their Lives (New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2002) and Schmidt's website 〈http://disciplined-minds.com/〉
82. Ibid., pp. 247-8. For a brilliant exploration of how all forms of professional training (including academic training) inculcate not only skills but also ideological discipline, and also how professionals can survive professional training with their values intact, see Jeff Schmidt, Disciplined Minds: A Critical Look at Salaried Professionals and the Soul-Battering System That Shapes Their Lives (New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2002) and Schmidt's website 〈http://disciplined-minds.com/〉
83. Mitchell, Schoeffel, Understanding Power, p. 239.
84. Ibid., p. 242. Although Chomsky discusses explicit efforts at censorship, his main concern is with a tendency towards internalisation of an elite perspective which makes conscious censorship or even self-censorship unnecessary. For a survey of claims of censorship across the political spectrum in US academic institutions in relation to commenting on the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, see John K. Wilson, The State of Academic Freedom, 2001-2002: A Report (2001) 〈http://www.collegefreedom.org/report2002.htm〉
85. Ibid., p. 242. Although Chomsky discusses explicit efforts at censorship, his main concern is with a tendency towards internalisation of an elite perspective which makes conscious censorship or even self-censorship unnecessary. For a survey of claims of censorship across the political spectrum in US academic institutions in relation to commenting on the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, see John K. Wilson, The State of Academic Freedom, 2001-2002: A Report (2001) 〈http://www.collegefreedom.org/report2002.htm〉
86. Ibid., pp. 286-8.
87. In Mitchell, Schoeffel, Understanding Power, pp. 351-5.